22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time; Sept. 2, 2018

Dt 4:1-2,6-8 Ps 15   Jas 1:17-18,21b-22,27   Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23

Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C.

 

            One of the great tensions in the spiritual life is between observing the Law and abiding by the Law of Love. Are we a religion of the Law with its rules, regulations, commandments, rubrics, Canon Law or are we a religion born of God’s love manifested in Christ?

The readings today are fascinating because they touch on the tension that runs throughout the Bible, right into our Christian tradition. The first reading is taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, which literally means “the second Law” because the Book of Exodus lays out the Ten Commandments and in Deuteronomy we have a reiteration and elaboration of the Law. So, in the title of the Book there is the primacy of the Law. We hear Moses speaking to the people:

 

“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching

you to observe, that you may live, and may enter and take

possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers

is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the

Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you, you shall not add to what

I command you nor subtract from it….Observe them carefully”

(emphasis added; Deut 4:1-2,6a).

 

This is very straightforward, strong stuff. Moses, the Lawgiver, is laying out the Law to the people saying to them the Law is your pride-and-joy; it’s God special gift to you and don’t mess with it: don’t add to it; don’t subtract from it.

The Gospel for this Sunday, on the other hand, contains a dispute between Jesus and several Pharisees and scribes over the value of observing “the tradition of the elders” (Mk 7:3), which are loosely connected to the Law of Moses, which Jesus, quoting the prophet Isaiah, defines as the “precepts of men” (v. 7), which must never take precedence over the “commandment of God.” The ancient rules in question consisted not only in the precepts God revealed to Moses, but in a series of norms that were indicated by the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees and scribes observed these norms in an extremely scrupulous manner because, in doing so, they believed they were in right relationship with God. Therefore, they rebuked Jesus and his disciples for transgressing them, thereby putting themselves in opposition to God. But, Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter, when he says, “You leave the commandment of God and hold fast to the tradition of men” (v. 8). Jesus is not only addressing his interlocutors, but our Teacher is speaking to us of truth and wisdom that frees us from hypocrisy.

We should pay heed to Jesus’ words.   Jesus is cautioning us against the belief that outward observance of the Law is enough to make us good Christians. It was dangerous for the Pharisees to think that way and so too with us if we consider ourselves acceptable to God or, even worse, morally superior to others if we observe the rules, customs of our Catholic religion even though we do not love our neighbor very well, we are hard of heart as we exclude others from our gathering, and are arrogant and proud. Literal compliance with the Law and its precepts is a fruitless exercise unless our hearts are being radically changed, which results in practical behavior.

What would that look like? It would mean opening oneself to meet God and his Word regularly and deeply in prayer. It would mean seeking peace through justice and not the permanent preparation for war. It would mean living out Matthew 25 (31-45) in which we take care of the poor, the weak, the downtrodden. We’ve got to admit that in our communities, parishes, and dioceses great scandal is done when those who say they are Catholic and frequently go to the Church but, who are insensitive to the needs of their family or who are abusive to the most vulnerable in our midst or who speak badly of others to the point of objectifying them because they are different. This is what Jesus condemns because this is a counter-witness to Christianity.

After this exhortation, Jesus shifts attention on the deeper aspect of the Law and states: “there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him” (v. 15). In this way, Jesus is emphasizing the primacy of interiority, that is, the primacy of the “heart,” which dwells within God’s presence.   Brothers and sisters, it is not the external things that make us holy or unholy, but the heart which expresses our intentions, our choices and the will do all that we do for the love of God. External behavior is simply the result of what we have decided in the heart and not the contrary: with a change of external behavior, but not a change of heart that conforms to the Father’s will, we are not true Christians.

            The boundary between good and evil does not pass outside of us, but rather dwells within us.   We should ask ourselves: where is my heart? Is it being conformed to the Sacred Heart of Jesus? Jesus said: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What is my treasure? Is it Jesus, is it his teaching?—ALL of this teaching, not just the ones I agree with. If so, then the heart is good. Or is my treasure something else? Do I seek happiness by pursuing the goods of the world such as wealth and security, status and accomplishment, self-absorbed pleasure, and dominative power? This is the heart that needs conversion and purification. Without a purified heart that only comes through surrender to the Father’s will, one cannot truly have clean hands and lips which speak sincere words of the Good News. If our hearts our hardened, then we will inevitably live a duplicitous, double life. We’ll say one thing and do another. Only a purified heart can genuinely speak words of mercy and forgiveness, which is exactly what Jesus, our Teacher does. Amen.